Hi foodies,

 

Welcome back to another “Experiments in Kitchen” post. Today, I am sharing my twist on my mother’s recipe for mix dal. Unlike my mother’s recipe, I am preparing this mix dal using eight lentils.

 

Mix Dal Using Eight Lentils

 

When we were kids, our mother used to experiment with different recipes to ensure we consume the healthy stuff more. She would create combinations of one tasty and one healthy recipe for lunches and dinners and we would generally end up loving both. Or she would experiment with a healthy recipe making it tastier for us. She used to prepare mix dal in a different way similar to dal makhani recipe so that we will eat some of the lentils we disliked through this dal. And it would work. We loved her version of mix dal. Her version generally included three to five types of lentils. I have eight lentils at home. So I decided to use a little of all of them and came up with this version of her mix dal. And surprisingly, this mix dal tastes just as awesome as hers used to.

 

Changes

 

As I said I use eight different lentils to prepare this mix dal. That’s the first change. I prepare two versions of this mix dal. One containing the whole spices like cinnamon stick, cloves, green cardamom, bay leaf, etc to add additional flavor and aroma usually for the guests. And the other version without all of these on a weekday for just the two of us.

 

Let’s Begin

 

The first step is to take 2 tbsp of all the lentils. Here I use Split Moong without skin, Split Moong with skin, Split Urad without skin, Bengal Gram or Chana dal, Black Masoor or red lentil, Red Masoor,  Pigeon pea or toor dal, Split Urad with skin. Together they form around one cup of mix dal. You can skip the lentils you dislike, just increase the quantity of lentils you used to get one cup of mix dal. Wash and soak them in water for 15 minutes.

 

 

 

After fifteen minutes, drain the water from the lentils and add them to pressure cooker to boil them. Add four cups of water, a little salt and turmeric powder to the mix dal.

 

 

Cook them on medium heat and wait till you get six whistles. It takes around 15 minutes. After around six whistles, close the flame and let the dal rest till all the pressure leaves the cooker. Do not open in between forcefully taking the pressure out. The extra time inside the cooker ensures the dal is properly cooked and had soaked the spices and salt.

Meanwhile, I chopped the onions, ginger, garlic, tomato, and green chilies to prepare the spicy tempering. Then I added the ghee (clarified butter) to another pan.

 

 

Once the ghee melted, I added a pinch of asafoetida, one green cardamom, and some cumin seeds.

 

 

Once the cumin seeds begin fluttering, I added the chopped onion, ginger and garlic.

 

 

Then I sauteed them in the ghee until the onion turned golden brown in color.

 

 

Next, I added the tomatoes and a little salt. After mixing the tomatoes with onions, I covered the pan with a lid for the next five minutes.

 

 

By now the tomatoes have become tender and start separating from oil. Therefore I added the remaining spices. And cooked the spices for another two minutes. Till now all the pressure hadn’t left the cooker. So, I closed the burner of the tempering and left it covered.

 

 

After about ten minutes, the cooker was ready to be opened. See how all the lentils have become soft. That means they are properly cooked. If you want them less soft, then give only three to four whistles while boiling them.

 

 

Then, I added the tempering to the mix dal and mixed it well.

 

 

Next, I added one cup of water and milk and let it simmer on low heat for the next ten minutes. This makes sure the tempering mixes well with the dal. Mix dal is ready, add some garam masala at the end (optional).

 

 

I served it without the garam masala with hot rotis.

 

 

How was it?

 

The mix dal has a warm and soothing texture and taste. I could taste some lentils quite strongly while others were lost. The taste of lentils along with the spicy and tangy tempering is both delicious and delectable. The milk provides the creaminess and richness to the mix dal. As I said earlier, it’s one of my favorite ways to make dal and we both love it.

 

For the next time

 

I have experimented a lot before coming to this recipe. I had made this mix dal with four, five, six and eight lentils and they all have turned out delicious. The magic is the tempering and the milk added in the end. You could also add the crushed dried fenugreek leaves at the end to get a more delectable aroma. No more next time changes for this one.

 

 

 

Have you ever made mix dal? Will you now think of trying this recipe?

Thanks for stopping by!

Happy Cooking!